Source: POLITICO' S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/18/20

DOJ’s Antitrust Division on Friday said it “will not challenge” a proposal by the National Pork Producers Council outlining how the industry and regulators can work together to minimize the number of hogs that are euthanized because of limited meat processing capacity, reports POLITICO’s Leah Nylen.

The NPPC is aiming to help farmers and state officials source equipment for culling hog herds and set up “centralized euthanasia and disposal stations.” The process includes sharing projections for the number of hogs that facilities can handle per day, for example, the trade group said.

Got the go-ahead: Producers “may work at the direction of the USDA and state agriculture agencies to achieve humane and efficient euthanization of hogs that have grown too large to be processed and are thus unmarketable,” the department said in a statement. “The NPPC may also share general information with its members about best practices for depopulating unmarketable hogs.”

Under normal circumstances, collaborating to limit supply could violate criminal antitrust laws, punishable by up to 10 years in prison or $100 million in fines. DOJ said it would have “serious concerns” if industry members coordinated to fix prices, restrict output or engage in other “anticompetitive conduct.”